1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to wire descaling apparatus, and more particularly, to mechanical means of descaling steel wire.
2. Prior Art
Devices for the mechanical descaling of wire to which the present invention pertains generally have been well-known in the art for some time. Such devices include a plurality of rollers disposed in two different planes so that the wire is bent in two directions 90.degree. to each other in order to descale the entire circumference of the wire. Such a device is shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,175,412.
These devices generally provide two sets of rollers positioned in perpendicular planes. There are usually three rollers on each set; a pair of spaced breaker rollers and a center roller positioned between the breaker rollers. The center roller can be moved between a position where the wire can be fed through the rollers in a straight line during initial set up of the machine, and a position where the rollers are juxtaposed to bend the wire a predetermined amount in order to cause the scaling to flake off as the wire is bent and passes around a portion of the circumference of each roller.
It is known that it is necessary to bend the wire a certain amount in order to cause the scale to come off. The extent of bending varies with the diameter of the wire and therefore the relative positions of the rollers are preferably adjusted for different wire sizes. Generally, this is accomplished by independently adjusting at least the position of the center roller in each set so that the wire either extends a greater or a lesser amount around the circumference of the breaker rollers and center roller.
These devices have generally been designed to descale wire in the range of 7/32 inch (5.5 mm) diameter to 15/32 inch (12 mm) diameter, since greater wire diameters, e.g. 1 inch (25.4 mm), require substantially greater force to bend them sufficiently for descaling. One problem associated with this type of wire descaling in the lower range of wire sizes, and which is even more pronounced in larger diameters of wire, is the wires natural tendency to remain arched as it comes off of the last descaling roller of each set, so that it is either not aligned properly with the next set of descaling rollers or the output guide from the machine. This tends to produce excessive wear and misalignment of the wire, either on the subsequent set of breaker rollers or on the output die which must assist in straightening the wire before it passes onto subsequent processing, for example, a drawing operation.